Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Kimber revolver???

Anyone else get this email?

Very cool. Might need to save, I have a feeling those are going to be rarer then hens teeth in 30 years.

I am interested, but I'm also curious why Kimber wants to get in the revolver business. Seems like a big gamble for a company to tool up to make a revolver in 2016. Is the 1911 market getting saturated?
Don't get me wrong, I really like quality revolvers. I just don't see a lot of new ones being purchased these days.

Between locks, 2 piece barrels, and MIM parts one can argue that S&W has made unpopular changes.

Kimber does have really good designers. If they built a top quality traditional revo, they might just have more success than S&W. Do I expect them to do that? No, they'll cut corners in materials, but they might do the right thing

Well, Kimber knows how to make good-looking guns. Plus, Kimber is beginning to rival Glock when it comes to marketing, so it doesn't matter if the gun works or not (think Solo--"Oh it doesn't run with 115gr ball ammo? Well, we can just say that it's designed specifically to shoot only 'high quality' ammo and everybody will shut up, because they don't want to look cheap when they say they don't want to pony up 80+ cents/round for practice").

So, you can bet their revolver will sell. It'll look great; Kimber will flood the gun rags with GORGEOUS photographs; the "experts" will say good things, and America will come running to buy it. But, I've no gripes with that, especially if it works. And it likely will run just fine. Hey, it's a wheel gun--Kimber should be able to manage the science there.

Knowing Kimber, they'll have have a few variants to launch. The revolvers will likely be stainless, but hopefully won't be simply a plain stainless gun with black rubber grips (Kimber's favorite color is brown, followed by gray). You just know they will have partnered with Crimson Trace for some "LG" models.

According to their teaser webpage, it's a concealed carry piece so you know it's going to be a hammerless model. Kimber is going the way of lawyer-proofing their guns, so the trigger will be in the 10+ lbs range. To convince you that the trigger is awesome or "new" or "better" (remember their marketing skills) they'll sell it as a Match Trigger or a Competition Trigger or something similar. Hopefully they didn't get bullied into installing a trigger lock, ala S&W, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see one.

But, since it's a revolver, there's really not much else Kimber or anyone can do to "revolutionize" it. Once you peel through the marketing, I'll bet it boils down to a SS 2" DAO .357 with typical dimensions (4.5" high, 6.5" long, and 1.5" thick). Kimber likes to go light, so it'll probably be lighter than the competition's (and Kimber will crow loudly about it--but it will probably still weigh north of 22 oz). In keeping with their policy of making good-looking guns, it'll have a nice melted look--which makes me wonder if they'll have an adjustable rear sight or just a notch. I can't picture Kimber going with a notch for a rear sight, but we'll see.

Tack on a Kimber MSRP of $899 or $999 ($1099 for laser grips!) and you're good to go!

LOL. We can expect that their string of variants will use non-explanatory adjectives that can be strung together like “Master Super Carry Ultra Custom Pro II.”

Just a wild-azzed guess here......it will be something like a 6 shot LCR (lightweight with a better than S&W trigger), but more streamlined and refined looking.

When .gov takes away our semi-autos, revolvers will be in much greater demand.

The hexagonal shape is interesting.

Everything old is new again?

Hexagonal Cylinder huh? If it's like one of these Auto-Revolvers I don't think I really want one . . .

> http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/MatebaAutoRevolver6in.jpg <

- MATEBA Model 6 Unica - Autorevolver

I think Kimber should master the 1911 before they try to make revolvers.

I wish them good luck in producing a quality revolver to rival S&W or Ruger at a similar price point.

Not too many people buy $1500 revolvers if that is where their revolver will be at. And if so I am highly doubtful it will be a better mousetrap than a pre lock Smith, it will also cost more.

I doubt $1500 will be their price point (at least not in the early models). If they stick with stainless steel, rubber grips, and no night sights, they'll be able to get them made with a MSRP at or just under a grand. They have to or Timberbuck will be exactly right: folks will stick with Smiths--especially if Kimber wimps out and puts an internal lock on it.

A 4" .45LC or .44 equivalent to the S&W Mtn Gun would get my attention and my money. Maybe the same in .357. Other than that, no thanks. Too many other great choices out there, especially including used.

Since they're saying it's going to "change the way you think about concealed carry," I doubt it'll be a 4" of any flavor. I'm still betting on a stubby hammerless .357.

I agree with you about the great choices available in the used market. You can get a sweet pre-lock Smith for less than what Kimber will want for their creation.

Agreed, on that and what it will be. Simply saying what it would take to get my attention and coin.

They should have built a Colt Python...

Nothing stops anyone from doing that, as the patent ran out many years ago.

Ha!

Very interesting.

My guess is whatever it is and whatever it cost, a lot of them will need to be returned for warranty work.

I'm in the market for a wheel gun right now. When I decide there is a better than average chance it won't say Kimber on the side of it.